


A Cold, Dark Winter's Night

by nickelkeep



Series: Nickel's Story Time Series [24]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Awesome Charlie Bradbury, Background Relationships, Castiel and Dean Winchester Need to Use Their Words, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time Having Sex, Charlie Bradbury Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everyone Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sex, Idiots in Love, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Morning Sex, Rutting, Secret Santa, Secrets, Sleepy Cuddles, idiots to lovers, multiple minor characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:27:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelkeep/pseuds/nickelkeep
Summary: The rest of the group burst into laughter, as Charlie shrugged, defeated. "Fine. Have I ever mentioned you suck as a best friend?" Cas laughed, as he had, in fact, heard it multiple times. "Oh! Before you all go!" Charlie put the lid on the Castles of Burgundy and hopped up from her seat. "It's that time!"Where the group had been laughing, it turned quickly into good-hearted ribbing and complaining. Charlie pulled out a small gift bag and handed it out to everyone. "Secret Santa!"Cas rolled his eyes as Charlie came to stand in front of him, gently shaking the bag. He reached in and pulled out a slip of paper, waiting until Charlie moved to the next person. He flipped it open, and butterflies fluttered in his stomach.Dean.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Nickel's Story Time Series [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1431565
Comments: 24
Kudos: 292
Collections: SPN Advent Calendar 2019





	A Cold, Dark Winter's Night

**Author's Note:**

> Story Time 24! That I almost missed cause I have been sick as all get out since Thursday. Talk about losing some time, right?
> 
> So we're still using prompts from NotFunnyDean's Advent Calendar (Which I've also fallen behind on. Ooops.) And today's prompt was Secret Santa. Things can't go wrong there, right?  
> ...  
> You can find me on [Tumblr](https://nickelkeep.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/nickelwrites).

"Alright, bitches! I'm not kicking you al out, but I'm kicking you all out. I'm tired, and someone's making me work tomorrow." Charlie glared at Cas, trying to appear angry but too busy fighting back giggles.

Cas held his hands up in defense. "Charlie, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't make the schedule."

"You can keep telling me, but you get special treatment Mr. Head Librarian." Charlie wiggled her head back and forth as she said Cas' title. "I'm just your measly IT person. The one who keeps everything up and functioning."

"And you're going in only to update the OS on the computers. I already know you'll be sitting on your switch most of tomorrow, and you're still getting paid." Cas pointed at Charlie. "I didn't tell that to the boss."

The rest of the group burst into laughter, as Charlie shrugged, defeated. "Fine. Have I ever mentioned you suck as a best friend?" Cas laughed, as he had, in fact, heard it multiple times. "Oh! Before you all go!" Charlie put the lid on the Castles of Burgundy and hopped up from her seat. "It's that time!"

Where the group had been laughing, it turned quickly into good-hearted ribbing and complaining. Charlie pulled out a small gift bag and handed it out to everyone. "Secret Santa!"

Cas rolled his eyes as Charlie came to stand in front of him, gently shaking the bag. He reached in and pulled out a slip of paper, waiting until Charlie moved to the next person. He flipped it open, and butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

Dean.

Yep, Cas officially hated and loved Secret Santa at the same time. Cas folded up the slip and shoved it into his pocket.

"Alright then! Everyone knows who they have." Charlie neatly folded the gift bag. "Remember, ten-dollar minimum, twenty dollar maximum. Need it a week from today for the next gaming group, which we will have here, again."

The group all acknowledged Charlie in various ways as they started grabbing their things and saying goodbye to Charlie.

"Heya, Cas. You ready to head home?" 

Cas turned to see Dean slipping on his leather jacket and smiled. "Yeah. Just need to give Charlie a hug." Dean nodded and headed towards the kitchen- most likely to see if any of the tarts he made were left to bring home with them -as Cas walked up to the boisterous redhead.

"You happy with who you got, Cas?" Charlie asked as she pulled him into a hug. "I think it should be pretty easy for everyone this year."

"That's why I got your name, huh? Fill the bag with just your name again?" Cas raised his eyebrow in playful accusation.

"One year, Cas. I did that one year, and I had the actual bag ready to go." Charlie leaned forward. "Did you actually get me?"

Cas shook his head. "Nah. I got uh..." He looked around the room. "I got Dean."

"Did you really?" Charlie's eyes lit up like a child's on well, Christmas morning. "You going to be in tomorrow?" When Cas shook his head, Charlie pouted. "Fine, but we're so talking about what you're getting him on Monday."

Cas started to speak when Dean came out of the kitchen, a plate in hand. "There were only a couple tarts left, so I stole some of the other treats." Dean pulled Charlie into a hug. "Thanks, as always, Kiddo. You sure you don't want to pass off next week to us, or someone else? It's going to be three weeks in a row that we'll have been here."

"I'm sure. Needed to keep the place filled while Dot's overseas, you know? Plus, she'll be exhausted when she gets home finally, and this way she doesn't have to go anywhere, but still be included."

"Makes sense to me." Cas nodded. "Ready to go, Dean?"

Dean lifted the plate and started walking to the door, throwing a wave over his shoulder to Charlie. Charlie waved, and when Dean's back was to her, she threw a pair of thumbs up at Cas, earning herself an eye-roll.

The drive home had been peaceful, despite Cas playfully cursing out Charlie on the way home. Dean had fallen hook, line, and sinker for the misdirection.

"Okay, so I know you got Charlie. You know what you're going to get her?" Dean asked as they walked up the flight of stairs to their apartment. 

"What do you get the geeky goddess who literally has everything?" Cas shook his head. "I guess I can just grab a gift card for her." Cas raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Who did you get?"

"Sam. Of freaking course." Dean laughed. "As if he wasn't already getting something from me, now he gets something else. Spoiled rotten, I tell you."

Cas couldn't help but join in Dean's laughter as they moved inside and kicked off their shoes. "You'd spoil him regardless."

"Don't call me out like that, Cas." Dean's hand ran through his hair and rested on the back of his neck. "I like spoiling people, period." His eyes met Cas,' and Cas felt a flood of warmth through his chest. "So, should we knock these gifts out together? We could hit up the mall."

"The mall, at Christmas time?" 

"Please don't make me go alone. I couldn't handle it." Dean pouted.

"Fine." Cas let out a heavy sigh. "But I expect frozen yogurt."

Dean chuckled. "It's the middle of December, dude." He held up his hands in protest when Cas lowered his eyes at him. "I swear, you and frozen yogurt is just as bad as Charlie and Iced Coffee."

"Yeah, I can't forgive her for that one, either." Cas rested his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Catch you in the morning?"

"Of course, Cas."

Cas smiled at Dean and headed back towards his bedroom, ready to hit the sack after a long and pleasing day.

The rest of the weekend pretty much vanished. Whoever wrote _Working for the Weekend_ was drearily accurate, despite the upbeat song. Monday morning found Cas back at the library, sitting in his office going over book transfer requests and procurement requests.

"Cas?" A knock on his door frame pulled him out of his work. "I brought coffee." Charlie handed him a cup before sitting in one of the chairs across from him. "So, how was the rest of your weekend?"

"Too short." Cas took a drink of his coffee, savoring the fact that Charlie still remembered how to make it after all their years of friendship. "Pretty much just sat around the house in PJs watching the Die Hard movies with Dean."

Charlie snorted as she took a drink of her own coffee - iced, the abomination - and covered her mouth quickly. "Let the boy celebrate the season how he likes it." A broad grin settled upon her lips. "Besides, we know you like it when he's happy."

"Shut up, Charlie." Cas set down his coffee before picking up a pen and signing off on one of the reports. "By the way, I can see if other libraries have the books you want to read. I can't just buy every new book that comes out that you want."

"Whatever, you know that we wouldn't get half of them if there wasn't a request." Charlie leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands. "So, whatcha getting Dean?"

Cas let out a sigh. He had been waiting for the question and was honestly expecting it sooner. "Don't know. We're supposed to go to the mall tomorrow or Wednesday. I was going to see if there was something that caught his eye and then swoop it up." Cas tried to put on his best pouty face. "Or, you know, you could be the bestest friend ever and switch giftees with me."

"No can do, Cas." Charlie leaned back and kicked her feet up onto his desk. "As soon as I got Eileen, I knew what I was getting her. Purchased off of Amazon right after everyone left."

"See, that's my problem." Cas ran a hand down his face. "I already bought Dean a gift off of his wish list. I can't do that with both gifts. It feels like cheating."

"Ooo, whatcha get him?" Charlie held up her hand. "Actually, forget I asked. How about this. Dean's been our friend for how many years now? You know what the boy likes."

Cas picked his coffee cup back up and took another drink. "Well, for starters, he doesn't like being called boy." He smirked at Charlie. "Maybe you can get away with it, but I honestly thought Ash was going to lose something when he tried.

"We know he loves his car. He loves Star Wars. He enjoys baking." Cas let out a sigh and set his coffee cup back down before leaning forward and swatting at Charlie's feet. "And all the things he wants, he normally grabs. He's banned from touching anything on his wish list because Sam and Ellen and Bobby got tired of trying to get him something just to find he bought it when he was able."

Charlie took her feet off the desk. "Well, I'm pretty sure I know something he wants for Christmas, that he's too afraid to get himself."

"You going to just leave me in the dark, Charlie?" Cas folded his hands together.

"You."

Cas' face dropped. "That's not even funny, Charlie."

"Ugh. You stubborn boys!" Charlie stood up and pointed at him. "I don't know if you idiots are just that stubborn or are that blind. Both of you are head over heels for each other. Hell, almost since the first day I brought him home, I knew you were lost on him."

"Yeah, I harbor a crush on him. And I hear what you say, but I don't see it." Cas felt the heat rise in his cheeks. "Can't lose him, Charlie. Not over some crush I have on him."

"Have I ever told you how infuriating it can be to be your best friend, Cas?"

"All the time." Cas acknowledged. He started to speak when Hannah knocked on the doorframe. "Yes, Hannah?"

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but a patron is asking to speak with the 'Librarian in Charge' and said that they know that you are here."

"You can just say it's Marv, Hannah. That lessens the blow." Cas looked at Charlie "This conversation is over."

"For now."

Cas glared at her as he got up from his desk to go deal with his weekly visit from Marv.

Marv's visit hadn't been as painful as previous ones, but it was still long, still droll, and Cas swore he could feel his brain liquifying and sliding out of his ear at one point.

It took a while to finally get Marv to his point; in this case, it was that a book he requested from another library hadn't arrived yet. Still, by the time Cas called and settled everything, it was time for him to head home.

As he pulled into the lot in front of his apartment building, he was surprised to find Dean's Impala already home. Cas hoped that it meant that it was just a slow day at the shop, and Dean was able to leave early and not something worse, like Dean coming down with a cold.

Cas silently stalked up the stairs to their apartment and, as quietly as he could, tried the front door, turning it to find it unlocked. He pushed the door open and crept inside, finding Dean curled up on a couch with his laptop. "Dean?"

"Shit!" Dean slammed the laptop shut and turned around, his eyes growing wide at Cas standing at the doorway. "What time is it?"

"Four-thirtyish?" Cas kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket before crossing over to sit on the couch with Dean. "Everything alright?"

"I, uh. Yeah. Sorry, was looking for gift ideas for Sam. Thought you were him." Dean shrugged, trying to pull off a nonchalant vibe.

"Sam? Are we expecting company?" Cas' face twisted into a playful grin.

Dean roughly set down the laptop on the coffee table. "It's Sam, ok? You know as well as I know he shows up randomly." Dean's tone caught Cas entirely off guard. "Why he had to be my Secret Santa giftee, I don't even freakin' know."

"Dean?" Cas' face dropped from bright to concerned in a flash. "Hey, talk to me." He reached out to rest his hand on Dean's shoulder when Dean pulled away abruptly. "Dean?"

"I'm fine, Cas. Really. Let it go." Cas could hear the finality in Dean's voice. "Just got a headache, and I'm irritated."

"And you can talk to me. I'm here." Cas started to reach for Dean, but pulled his hand back, remembering the first attempt. "Dean?"

Dean stood up abruptly, the change in the couch causing Cas to fall slightly backward, "I said let it be. Please." He bent down and grabbed his laptop before storming back to his room.

"Dammit, Dean." Cas ran his fingers through his hair and stood up, heading over to the kitchen to grab a beer. He twisted off the cap and tossed it into their collection basket before heading back to his room.

Cas laid back on his bed and pulled out his phone, shooting a text to Dean.

_**[4:41 PM Cas:]** Sorry I pushed. You don't get like this often, and I was worried. Let me know if you want me to make dinner or something._

When he didn't get a response after a few minutes, he did the next best thing to try and calm his own nerves. Cas called Charlie.

"Thought you said the conversation was over, Cas?" Charlie greeted, answering on the second ring. "What changed your mind?"

Cas sighed and settled in for a long evening.

The smells of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of bacon sizzling woke Cas up the next morning. He slowly sat up in bed and grabbed his phone. A minute before his alarm was supposed to go off. Which meant Dean had gotten up even earlier to start it.

Cas kicked off his blanket and climbed out of bed, sliding on his slippers before heading out to the kitchen. Dean was standing at the stove, a cup of coffee in hand, flipping bacon, all while humming along to whatever Christmas carol was playing softly on the radio.

Cas took a moment, leaning in the doorway to appreciate the view. He knew that Dean was in a happy place, and he didn't want to take that away from him yet.

"I know you're behind me, Cas," Dean responded a moment later. Cas heard the click of the stove being shut off and watched as Dean set down his coffee mug and loaded some bacon strips onto a plate. "You gonna sit down, or what?"

Cas shuffled over to the kitchen table as Dean poured a cup of coffee for him and topped off his own mug. Dean walked over to the table and set the cups down before turning back and grabbing the plate of bacon and a plate of toast. 

"What's all this?" Cas looked up at Dean as he sat down. "You should be sleeping."

"Couldn't sleep." Dean lifted his coffee mug to his lips and slowly started drinking it. "I was an ass yesterday."

"Would it be better or worse if I agree with you?" Cas grabbed a piece of bacon and bit into it.

Dean set down his mug and hummed in consideration. "In this case? Probably better. Cause you still were worried about me and wanted to take care of me even after I stormed into my room last night."

"Dean, you don't get into moods like that anymore. Of course, I was concerned."

"Yeah. I was an ass." Dean grabbed his own piece of bacon. "This is, you know, me trying to make up for it."

"Dean, I don't need apology bacon in the morning." Cas swatted at Dean's hand as he tried to pull the plate closer to himself. "I said I don't need it. I appreciate it, though. What I want is for you to know you can always talk to me."

Dean took a quick drink of his coffee and nodded. "I know I can, Cas. Just..." Dean shrugged and ran his non-baconified fingers through his hair. "Are we still on to go shopping? We can go tonight. Malls are typically slowest on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Yeah." Cas' shoulders dropped, and he knew that disappointment was probably written across his face. "You working a full day?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "Just come home after work, and then we can go and grab a bite to eat while out."

Cas nodded and drained his coffee. "Alright, then. I need to go get ready." Cas excused himself from the table and headed back to his room. Something was still up with Dean, and it hurt that Dean wouldn't let him in.

By the time Cas came back out, Dean had already headed back into his own room. The bacon was still on the table with a note to leave it, and that Dean would clean it up. Cas picked up another slice, placing it in his mouth, before grabbing a container and filling it with some bacon and a couple slices of bread.

The drive to work had been entirely abnormal. Cas didn't hit a single light and was there with ten minutes to spare. But then time stopped. Every time Cas looked at the clock, only a few minutes had passed. He finished his work quickly, only two hours into his shift, even with two trips to the coffee machine.

Cas found himself heading out to the front to stock the returned books, clean up the checkout counter, he even alphabetized the newspaper rack. The day was going too slow, and he couldn't figure out why.

Once he finally clocked out for the day, Cas found the drive home the same as the drive into work. No red lights, no traffic. He was back in record time. And just like the day before, he found Dean's Impala sitting out front of their apartment building.

Unlike the day before, he made no secret of his return home. He walked up the stairs regularly. He didn't try to open the door first; instead, he slid his key into the lock, hoping it was heard.

"Hiya, Cas." Dean was sitting on the sofa, browsing Amazon when he entered.

"Home early again?" Cas raised an eyebrow as he crossed over to join Dean.

"Yeah, appointments finished early. Benny and Ash are still at the shop for walk-ins and know to call me if they need me." Dean paused and looked at Cas. "I wanted to make up for yesterday."

Cas smiled softly. "You want to head out now then? Or do you want to wait a bit?"

"Let's go now, and then we can hit up the Roadhouse for take out. Come home and watch a movie?" Dean requested softly.

"That sounds great, Dean." 

Dean nodded and closed his laptop before standing up and stretching. "I'm gonna hit the head quick, meet me at the Impala?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys, tossing them to Cas. "Go get her started?"

To neither of their surprise, the mall was crowded. Christmas brought everyone out for shopping, especially those who missed all the shipping deadlines or didn't have free two-day shipping.

"Jesus Christ, we agreed to this?" Dean looked at Cas, causing the latter to chuckle softly. "You said you have Charlie, right? We can go hit up the pop up shops, or _Dice and Dungeons_."

"I'll never go wrong with a gift certificate to _Dice and Dungeons_. What about Sam? What are you thinking?" Cas gently elbowed Dean in the side.

"Is that market store thing still here? The one with all that organic stuff you two like to nerd over?"

Cas tilted his head in the direction of the store. "Let's swing by there first. It's on the other end of the mall, and we can work our way back."

"Lead the way, hippy." Dean gestured.

"Whatever you say, gearhead."

"Not an insult." Dean puffed out his chest in pride. "Remember this gearhead maintains that beautiful chariot that brought you here."

Cas patted Dean's shoulder. "And don't forget that I am a proud hippy."

 _Bees, Trees, and Armadillos_ was not immune to the shopping rush, but it was still a nice reprieve from the mall corridors. Cas grabbed a basket and walked side by side with Dean. "So, do you know what you want to get Sam?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. I'm hoping something hits me, or maybe you can point out something you guys like." Dean pointed at the basket. "You need to pick up somethings too?"

"I might see something that Charlie would like, or I may find something piques my interest, yes. It's just easier to share a basket, then burden ourselves with too many packages." Cas explained, smiling at Dean.

Cas watched as Dean's eyes explored his face. He blushed under the scrutiny and turned to walk down the first aisle. He stopped as Dean's hand fell on his shoulder. "Don't ever change, Cas."

Their trip through the store was slightly successful. Cas helped Dean find a couple of small items for Sam, most of the personal grooming variety. He had to deflect a few times about things that he liked, remind Dean that they were there for Charlie and Sam.

"Can I at least buy you the jar of honey, Cas?" Dean asked. 

"You don't need to buy my forgiveness, Dean. We're good, I promise." Cas took a small chance and cupped Dean's cheek. He watched as his best friend melted into the touch, and for a moment, allowed himself to wonder if Charlie was telling the truth.

Dean smiled, a pure, unrestrained smile, flipping Cas' world upside down. "I know." Dean moved up to the cashier, leaving Cas confused, giddy, but most of all, questioning everything he thought he knew.

Once they finished up in the hippy shop, they stopped by _Dice and Dungeons_ to grab a gift card for Charlie, before swinging by one last shop, _The Pewter Palace_

"What's in here that you need, Dean?"

Dean ran his fingers through his hair. "I like looking at things. They're not exactly practical for me, but there's some nice stuff in there." Dean shrugged. "Besides, I can call the order in to Ellen, and we can kill a little bit of time in there."

As promised, Dean waited out in the corridor to call in their order to Ellen before entering the shop. Cas was had squatted down to play with a Newton's Cradle. "Order in?"

"Yeah." Dean pointed at the knick-knack. "Complaining that we stopped in here now?"

"I was never complaining, I was just curious. I don't think I've ever seen you in here before." Cas stopped the balls and stood up. "And those are soothing. I have one that Hannah bought me on my desk at work."

"I didn't know that." Dean paused. "Actually, I don't think I've been to the library since you got the promotion." Dean frowned. "I need to fix that."

"Dean, you barely know your schedule day-to-day. Running the auto shop is two jobs. I never begrudged you that."

Dean nodded and started wandering around the store. Cas noticed that Dean would stop randomly to get an idea of where Cas was, and it fed into the idea that maybe Charlie wasn't kidding. That maybe Dean did feel for him the way that Cas felt in return.

Cas stopped in front of a display of pens, and slowly spun it, admiring the beautiful pieces in the case. He jumped slightly, a warm voice close to his ear, catching him off guard. "Something caught your eye, Cas?"

"I've always wanted a nice pen," Cas replied, trying to calm himself. "I know when I write, I do most of it on the laptop. But there's just something so soothing about the way ink glides across the paper." Cas turned and shrugged. "I guess I'm a bit of a sap."

"Nah, you know what you like." Dean clapped his shoulder and continued down the aisle, stopping at a display of keyrings.

Cas watched him from the corner of his eye and saw that Dean's hand stop on one, that he gently rubbed his thumb over. Cas pulled away from the pens and walked down the aisle, joining Dean by his side. "So, did you find something intriguing?"

Dean stiffened up and looked over his shoulder at Cas. "Nah, you know me and shiny things." Dean let go of the keyring and turned to face Cas. "Shall we go pick up dinner and head home?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The next day, Cas woke up with a plan.

Something had shifted between him and Dean. Cas didn't know if it was because he was opening his eyes for the first time, or if something was actually progressing forward. 

Cas decided to listen to Charlie.

He knew that he was taking a risk, but if their friendship was as solid as Cas believed, they would move on if he was wrong. But he didn't want to be wrong.

Cas drove back to the mall, getting there right as it opened, and headed directly to _The Pewter Palace_. The keychains Dean had admired were right where he and Dean had left them. Cas grabbed the one that had caught Dean's fancy the most and brought it up to the counter. Claire, per the nametag of the girl behind the counter, greeted him.

"Find everything that you needed today, sir?"

Cas smiled and nodded. "You have no idea."

"Are you buying just the keyring, or are you personalizing?"

"Personalizing. How long does it take?"

Claire smiled. "Normally it's only a day, but we're backed up 'cause of the holiday rush. Keyrings don't take long though, so it should be ready by Friday morning." She grabbed a form. "Let me just doublecheck... 30 character limit on that one, including spaces."

"That's plenty." Cas quickly filled out the form and handed his credit card over to the girl. 

"That's really sweet." Claire smiled. "You're sure everything is spelled correctly?" Cas nodded, and Claire continued. "Great. Then we'll get this in the queue, and call you when it's ready.”

The next two days, both went by incredibly fast. Even another visit from Marv on Thursday didn't slow time enough for Cas. His nerves vibrated with excitement and fear as he stopped by the mall on Friday before heading home.

Claire was there again, and she smiled at Cas. "Hiya, Mr. Novak." She turned around and dug through the boxes, before finding the one containing the keychain. "Double check that for me?"

Cas opened the box and slid the keychain out of the velvet bag. He smiled and nodded before returning it into its wrappings. "It's perfect."

"Awesome! I hope everything goes smoothly. Whoever it is, they're a lucky person." Claire gave Cas a pair of thumbs up.

"Thank you, but if this works, it's me who's the lucky one." He rushed as politely as possible out of the store, box in pocket, to get back home.

Luckily for Cas, the drive home was smooth and easy. Unluckily, it meant that he had time to kill before Dean got home, and they would head over to Charlie's. Unlike the previous few days where he didn't have time to dwell on what he was doing, he now had time and was crashing hard.

He grabbed his phone and called Charlie.

"Miss me already, Cas? You're going to be here in what? An hour?" Charlie answered by way of greeting.

"Am I going to fuck this up? Is he going to hate me? Please tell me he's not going to run away." Cas fell back on his bed. "Charlie, I can't do this."

"Hold on, Dot." Cas could hear Charlie moving and instantly felt regret for pulling Charlie away from her girlfriend. "You were so sure about this on Wednesday, Cas. And I know you're doing the right thing. Talk to me."

"What if he doesn't want this? What if he doesn't want to live with a guy who's crushing on him? What if you're wrong?"

Charlie scoffed. "Me, wrong? Never." 

"Gilda, in high school."

"One, rude. That was years ago. Two, I was still tuning my LGBTQ sensors back then." Charlie clucked her teeth. "You're nervous, Castiel. And that's ok. But I promise things are going to go well. Even if, for some reason I'm wrong, which, I'm never wrong, you and Dean are best friends. Like, second only to you and me, ok?"

Cas let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Okay. Okay." Cas tensed as he heard the front door unlock. "Shit, he's home. I gotta go." Cas hung up the phone and scrambled to his feet. "Dean?"

"Hey, Cas." Dean peaked into Cas' room. "I uh, cut out early so I could grab a shower. Cracked oil pan." He took a step back and held his arms out. "You would think little old ladies wouldn't go ninety over speed bumps, but clearly..." He shrugged and pointed over his shoulder. "I'm going to hop in if you want to get the stuff together to take over to Charlie's."

"Yeah, of course." Cas nodded. "I can do that."

"Cool." Dean took a step closer toward Cas instead of heading to the bathroom. "You alright, buddy? You're looking a little pale."

Cas shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm good. I promise." Cas changed his head to a nod. "Go take a quick shower."

"If you're sure." Dean snapped at Cas. "Wait, are you nervous about Charlie's gift? Dude, I know a gift card doesn't seem that personal, but I have it on good faith that she wants to order a set of custom dice, and your gift will help with that. It'll make her night."

"Thanks, Dean."

Dean nodded and stopped in his room, giving Cas a chance to head towards the kitchen and pack up the pies and muffins that Dean had made for the party. Several minutes later, after everything was packed up, Dean came out in a hunter green henley and blue jeans. "We good, Cas?"

"Yeah. Just need to take everything out to the car." Cas hooked the bag over his shoulder. "Grab my jacket?"

The drive to the party was filled with Dean retelling the tale of the cracked oil pan, and how Ash and Benny laughed so hard, they both couldn't breathe. 

Before Cas knew it, they were pulling up to Charlie's place. Several cars were already parked out front, and Cas started panicking slightly.

"Cas, are you ok?" Dean reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, I don't know what's going on, but I can drop off our presents and the food, grab ours, and we can go back home." Dean cupped Cas' cheek.

Cas melted into Dean's touch. His breathing slowed down, and the world around him stopped spinning. In that instant, Cas knew he would have to be crazy to back down from his plan. "I'm good."

"Nothing is worth seeing you get upset like this." Dean ran his thumb over the apple of Cas' cheek before pulling away. "You need to leave, you tell me immediately, ok?"

"I promise, Dean."

"Okay." Dean slouched back in his seat. "Remember, the party don't start until we walk in."

Cas nodded. "Let's get this over with."

Despite Dean's proclamation, the party was already underway. Sam and Eileen were sitting on the sofa talking with Dorothy. Balthazar was talking the finer points of brandy with Gabriel, and Meg was curled up on the couch with Benny, eyeing their SOs with humor and disbelief. 

Charlie came running up to Dean, squeezing him in a tight hug before giving Cas a chance to pass over their goodie bag so she could hug him. As Dean walked to go set up their offerings, Charlie whispered in Cas' ear. "It'll all work out, I promise."

Charlie backed off and turned around to the rest of the group. "Game time, bitches!" She gestured to a stack of games already stacked on the table and grabbed out Coup. "Let's deceive each other some more!"

That was how the evening continued, game after game, mischief after mischief before Dorothy declared herself the party killer. "Maybe next year the damn magazine won't send me to Europe for two weeks before Christmas," She joked, despite the weariness in her voice.

"Alright then!" Charlie, who was still on a bit of a high note. "I guess we get to the part everyone's been waiting for the most." She tapped her fingertips together, trying to appear maniacal. "Secret Santa!" She ran over to the Christmas tree and grabbed a box out from underneath it. "Me first!" Charlie handed the present to Eileen, who blushed bright red.

"This isn't what I think it is, is it?" Eileen signed.

"Oh, it is, and if you don't want to open it in front of everyone, that's fine by me," Charlie replied, shooting finger guns at Eileen and causing her to turn an even brighter red.

Eileen hugged the box to her chest and signed Thank You.

"Wait, she knew what she was getting?" Dean questioned. "How is that fair. Some of us struggled with our gifts and had to endure the freakin' mall."

"I needed to make sure I got the right one. And Eileen and I had a girl talk conversation about it a while ago. So." Charlie stuck her tongue out at Dean.

Eileen tapped Sam and pointed to her giftee's present under the tree. While Sam grabbed it, Eileen looked at Balthazar. "I hope you like it?"

Balthazar smiled and pulled a bartender's bible out of his gift bag. "Thank you, darling, Truly." He set the book on the table and reached into his lapel pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to Gabriel. "Technically, it's over the limit, but I own the joint. Please take your girl out on a nice date?"

"Hell yeah! We're going to be fancy, Meg." Gabe danced over to the tree and grabbed a box, dropping it on Dorothy's lap. "If the gift is lame, blame me. But I didn't know what else to get Ms. Fancy World Traveler."

Dorothy chuckled and ripped open the wrapping paper to find a 'mark-where-you've-been' map. She smiled fondly. "This is actually perfect. I've been meaning to get one." Dorothy stood up and grabbed a gift bag, handing it to Sam. "Unlike Charlie's gift, mine is safe for public viewing."

"Wait..." Cas tilted his head and looked at Dean.

"Something wrong, Cas?" Sam asked.

Cas shook his head but kept his eyes leveled on Dean. "No, I'm sorry to interrupt."

"Okay, then." Sam reached into the bag and pulled out a book on European Serial Killers. "Dammit, you guys know me too well." He stood up and squeezed Dorothy before crossing over to Benny and handing him a card.

"Thank you, brotha," Benny replied in his deep drawl. "Well, hot damn. I don't know how you got your hands on these." Benny revealed a pair of tickets to a supposedly sold out Jazz Festival.

"One of my clients runs it. I can't take gifts, but I can take discounts to buy gifts."

Benny grinned from ear to ear as he walked over to the tree and grabbed a small box off of the tree. "Now, Megara, they say the best gifts come in small packages."

"Ooo, a guy after my heart." She took the box from Benny and pulled the wrapping paper off of it. She cracked it open to reveal a pair of opal earrings. "A little golden birdie might have told me you like opals."

Meg squealed excitedly and hugged Benny before plopping into Gabe's lap. "You did so good." She closed the box and looked at Charlie. "Under your seat, Ginger Snap."

Charlie's head tilted in confusion, and she looked under the seat to find a gift bag, which she set in her lap.

"Oh, so you gifted to Charlie, huh?" Dean crossed his arms and looked at Cas. "You can't give me shit."

"Boys, I'll always take double gifts." Charlie reached into the bag and pulled out the gift card to _Dice and Dungeons_ "Fuck yeah! Fancy custom dice, I'm on my way."

Cas slowly flipped off Dean, a smirk coming across his face. "I said I was shopping for Charlie. I just didn't say I was a proxy." He clarified before a realization settled in. "Wait." He counted around the room and looked at Dean, who was coming to the same conclusion. "If you didn't buy for Sam, and I didn't buy for Charlie."

"Then we bought for each other?" Dean turned bright red. "Uh, do we just?" Dean walked to his jacket and pulled out a wrapped box.

"I guess we just swap?" Cas pulled Dean's box out of his pocket.

Cas handed his box to Dean and took the one offered in return. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him as he pulled at the paper, exposing a simple, elegant box.

"Boys. Faster, please. The suspense, it's killing us." Charlie griped.

Cas and Dean each threw up one finger salutes in unison before returning to their presents. Cas opened the box to find a purple, velvet bag, similar to the one Dean was now holding in his hands. He loosened the drawstrings and slid out one of the pens he had been looking at in _The Pewter Palace_. His jaw fell loose as his thumb traced over the engraved angel wings on the cap's clip.

Oblivious, yet fully aware of the man next to him, Cas rotated the pen and found an engraving on it:

 _'Cause I feel so secure when we're together  
_ _You give my life direction, you make everything so clear_

Cas' eyes shot up to find Dean's thumb running over the guitar keychain he fancied back at the same store. Cas watched as Dean flipped it over and traced over the engraving: _With you, there is no wrong._ Dean's eyes slowly looked up, finding Cas' in a heartbeat. "Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?" Cas swallowed, trying to get his heart back in place.

"Am I wrong to assume that your gift is implying the same as mine?"

Cas shook his head. "I don't think so." He looked briefly away from Dean to the rest of the room, all of whom were raptly paying attention to them. 

"Good." Dean pulled Cas across the sofa they shared, locking their lips together to the sound of their friends cheering around them. Dean pulled back and whispered so only Cas could hear him. "I'm starting to guess this was rigged against us, Angel."

"Or for us." Cas closed the distance between them and captured Dean's mouth in a heated kiss.

Charlie and the rest of their friends came clean about the Secret Santa. While it looked like they were pulling random names out of the bag Charlie had, all the slips had either said Cas or Dean on them. She had used a program and texted everyone else separately who they were actually gifting.

"You two are so thick-headed." Charlie defended before they left. "Strangers on the street think you two are a couple. The only thing holding you two back were you two."

On the drive home, Dean had pulled Cas across the front seat and wrapped his arm around Cas' shoulders. "I'm still realizing how real we are," Dean stated. "I just need to be reminded."

Cas didn't have a single complaint.

When they entered their apartment, Cas pulled Dean to the sofa and let Dean rest his head in his lap.

When it quickly approached bedtime, both of them fought off yawns and drowsiness. 

They stood in the hallway, their fingers entwined and reluctant to be separated. Dean offered the obvious. "Stay with me tonight?"

Cas nodded and allowed Dean to pull him into his room. "Lose the shirt and slacks, Angel. I'm not gonna bite. Just want to hold you."

"You were quick to settle on that for a term of endearment, Dean," Cas observed as he stripped to his boxers.

"No, Cas. I've been calling you that for years. Just never out loud. Was how Charlie found out that I'm in love with you." Dean took Cas by the hand and pulled him to the bed. "One night, when she crashed here, she overheard me talking in my sleep."

"So when Charlie said she knew..." Cas covered his face as he blushed. "She literally knew that you felt the same as me."

Dean pulled Cas' hand away from his face as he leaned in and spread soft kisses along Cas' cheek. "No need to be embarrassed, Angel. We got plenty of time to make up for the lost time." Dean yawned and pulled Cas closer against him. "Starting with all the times we could have shared a bed like this."

"This is nice." Cas nodded in agreement as he snuggled into the crook of Dean's arm. "It's actually better than what I imagined."

"We'll see if you agree with that in the morning." Dean kissed the top of Cas head while lazily drawing small circles on his back.

The last thing Cas remembered before dozing off was Dean humming the tune of a very familiar song.

The next morning, Cas woke up feeling like he was in a dream. He opened his eyes and found himself tangled up in bed with Dean. It took him a couple of moments to process the events from the night before, to realize that no, he wasn't dreaming.

And since he wasn't actually dreaming, that meant the morning wood poking into Dean's hip was very real as well. He groaned, silently pleading for his boner to die down. Since that didn't appear to be very likely, Cas figured he could do the next best thing.

Sneak out of bed.

Cas attempted to rotate but quickly found himself enveloped in a tighter embrace. "Feels like someone is happy to see me." Dean chuckled, his voice still thick with sleep. "Cas, Angel, we're human. It's ok to wake up with a hard-on."

"I know, but this between us is new, it's delicate. I don't want to mess it up before it even begins."

Dean rolled over and cupped Cas' cheek before closing the gap between them and kissing him. "My imagination sucks, cause that was better than I ever dreamed." Dean chuckled. "I'm not going to sit here and lie and tell you that I don't want to see you naked and have some fun with you. But I ain't going to push you either, Cas."

"I just don't want to you think less of me in the morning," Cas quipped, raising his eyebrows in contemplation.

"Cas." Dean squirmed out from under Cas and sat up before pulling Cas up too. "I'm leaving this up to you. You know I'm in love with you. You know that I want you. But I'm not going to do anything without your okay." Dean pulled Cas in for a deep kiss. "I am okay with your pace."

Cas climbed on top of Dean's Lap and straddled him. "The same goes for you, Dean. I don't want you to think you have to do this."

The pair stared at each other for a moment before bursting out in laughter, Cas resting his head on Dean's shoulder as Dean traced more small circles on Cas' thighs. "This is exactly was Red was talking about, wasn't she, Cas?" Dean asked once he calmed down.

"Yeah, it was," Cas replied. He took a deep breath. "Dean, I want you."

The small circles Dean had been running along Cas' skin suddenly turned into Dean holding Cas' thighs, his fingers slightly digging in. "Shit, Cas. Your voice."

A throaty chuckle sounded from Cas, as he laid small kisses and love bites along Dean's jawline and throat, causing Dean to writhe beneath him. "What do you want, Dean?"

"Touch you. Feel you." Dean's fingers hooked into the waistband of Cas' boxers, and he pulled them down as far as he could. "Up, please, let me get these off of you."

Cas pushed off for a moment and slid his boxers off the rest of the way, while Dean did the same. Dean sat up and pulled Cas back on top of himself. "There are so many things I want to do. So many things I dreamed I couldn't have." Dean wrapped his hand around the back of Cas' neck and pulled him in for a slow, sloppy kiss. "I want you to fuck my brains out. I want you to ride me. I have had so many fantasies of the things we could do."

"Tell me, Dean. Which do you want to do first?" Cas straddled Dean's lap and wrapped his hand around Dean's thick, leaking cock, slowly stroking and causing Dean's head to fall back against the headboard.

Dean whimpered as Cas expertly stroked him close to orgasm before squeezing the base of his cock. "Cas, please?"

"Please, what, Dean?" Cas wrapped his hand around both of their cocks, pressing them together as he started to stroke.

Dean wrapped his arms around Cas' neck as he started to thrust into Cas' hand, his cock sliding against Cas'. "This, I want this. Cas, please." He whimpered before quickly claiming Cas' mouth with his own.

Cas moaned into the kiss, and he wrapped his other hand around their cocks, both hands holding them together and stroking them. Dean's fingers tangled into the hair on the back of his head, refusing him respite and breathing space as the pair of them came crashing over the edge together.

The pair sat together in peaceful silence for a moment before Dean started to chuckle. Cas sat back up and reached for his boxers to wipe up some of their mess. "What's so funny?"

"I was thinking, this is not where I expected everything to go. I hoped, and I am happy that everything worked." Dean carded his fingers through Cas' hair as he tried to stifle another chuckle. "And that got me to thinking. We're here because Charlie rigged everything." Dean shook his head. "Charlie was our Secret Santa, and she gifted us with each other."

"Well then," Cas kissed Dean softly. "You can be the one to tell her that we put her gift to good use.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, just in case you were wondering... Yes, I love song lyrics for everything, as do the boys. I mean, Dean loves his music, right?
> 
> Dean's engraving (on Cas' Pen) - Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore by REO Speedwagon (This is also what he's humming as Cas falls asleep).  
> Cas' engraving (on Dean's Keychain) - Thank You by Led Zeppelin  
> ...  
> Are you into Destiel? Do you use Discord? Are you over the age of 18? Looking for a cool group of people to hang out with? Come join the writers, artists, and other amazing Destiel fans on the [Profound Bond Discord Server](https://discord.gg/profoundbond).


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